“THE HARBOURS OF ENGLAND” (1856)

Summary

[Bibliographical Note.—In 1825 Lupton, the engraver, projected a serial publication entitled The Ports of England, and for this Turner undertook to supply all the drawings (as appears from a letter of Lupton to Ruskin). But both artist and engraver lacked the opportunity required to carry the undertaking to a successful conclusion, and three numbers only were completed. Each of these contained two engravings. Part I., introducing Scarborough and Whitby, appeared in 1826; Part II., with Dover and Ramsgate, in 1827; and in 182o Part III., containing Sheerness and Portsmouth, closed the series. To ornament the covers of these parts, Turner designed a vignette, which was printed upon the centre of the front wrapper of each. As The Ports of England is an exceptionally scarce book, and as the vignette can be obtained in no other form, a facsimile of it is here given on p. 6. The original drawing was presented by Ruskin to the Fitz-William Museum, at Cambridge, where it may now be seen (see below, p. .557). Twenty-eight years afterwards (that is, in 1856, five years after Turner's death) these six Plates, together with six new ones, were published by Messrs. E. Gambart and Co., at whose invitation Ruskin consented to write the essay on Turner's marine painting which accompanied them.